3 Nephi 13
Instructions against Hypocrisy (cf. Matthew 6:1–18)
3 Nephi 13:1–4
1 Verily, verily, I say that I would that ye should do alms unto the poor; but take heed that ye do not your alms before men to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father who is in heaven.
2 Therefore, when ye shall do your alms do not sound a trumpet before you, as will hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.
3 But when thou doest alms let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth;
4 That thine alms may be in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly.
Comments
The only significant difference from Matthew 6:1–4 is found in verse 1. The phrase “Verily, verily, I say that I would that ye should do alms unto the poor,” is added. It is interesting to speculate why this addition was appropriate in the New World. Aiding the poor has been a Nephite teaching from the beginning, but the descriptions of Nephite society in the years leading up to the sign of Christ’s birth, and then the time leading up to the signs of his death, suggest that the Nephite nation had begun to turn its back on assisting the poor. When the Book of Mormon describes the Nephites being increased in pride during their times of riches, one of the complaints is that they neglect the poor. It is perhaps a reminder of this duty that was important at this point.
The sayings on alms are not given only to reinforce the need for them, but to discuss our personal relationship to them. This section of the Sermon on the Mount begins a series of examples which will end with the conclusion that those who do seemingly righteous things for the glory that might come to them from men will have their reward. That is, if they do things so that men will regard them, then it is only men who will so regard them, not God.
The underlying message of all of these is that what God requires is not simply our actions, but that the motivations for our actions be correct.
3 Nephi 13:5–8
5 And when thou prayest thou shalt not do as the hypocrites, for they love to pray, standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them, for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him.
Comments
There are no significant differences between these verses and the parallels found in Matthew 6:5–8.
These instructions will introduce the Lord’s prayer in the next verses. The introduction sets up the need for correct humility before God in prayer as opposed to prayers offered as public demonstrations. It is not a condemnation of public prayer, but of the motivations behind it.
If the one who prays in public desires that people recognize that person as particularly pious, then they are offering the prayer for their own benefit and are not truly desiring communion with God. The admonition to pray in secret is again not a suggestion that there should be no public prayers, but that the purpose of prayer is communion, which can be done in secret where no other person could see or hear it. God sees. God hears. That is the purpose of prayer.
Vain repetitions might include some of the stock phrases we all learn from our culture, but that was not the intent of these verses. Many prayers in the ancient world were more akin to what we might compare to a magic spell. They were formulas that were designed to suggest that using that formula would require God to hear, and act on the subject of the prayer. God’s desire for our prayers is that they be more communication, and less an attempt to suggest that God ought to do our will.
3 Nephi 13:9–13
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
12 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
13 For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Comments
There are three important differences between these verses and the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9–13. The first is the addition of “after this manner therefore pray ye” at the beginning of verse 1. That change clarifies that this is a model rather than a dictated form of prayer. The difference between an example and a fixed text suggests that prayer should be personalized, and not use these very words as though they had a specific power above the nature of an example. To do so might elevate them to the “vain repetitions” of verse 7 of this chapter.
The second is that “thy kingdom come” is removed from the beginning of Matthew 6:10. There is no context to tell us why that phrase was omitted, but it is possible that it is the suggestion that the resurrected Christ standing before them represented the ushering in of that kingdom.
The third change is that Matthew 6:11, “Give us this day our daily bread” has been removed entirely (Orson Pratt split the Matthean verse 13 into two verses to be able to keep the verse numbers the same). There is no clear reason for the elimination of that verse, though it might be related to the absence of bread as a stable in native diets.
3 Nephi 13:14–15
14 For, if ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you;
15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Comments
The comments on 3 Nephi 12:7 suggested that “blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” represented an expression that the way we act towards others will be a model for how God acts with us. That is the theme in these two verses. In the first, God forgives us when we are forgiving. The warning is in verse 15. If we are unforgiving, then the Father is unforgiving. The way we judge others will influence the way that God judges us.
This is also the theme from later in the Sermon on the Mount: “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matthew 7:1–2).
This is not a verse telling us not to judge. Agency requires that we make judgments. It is simply a warning about the nature and quality of our judgments. It warns us that the way we judge others will be a model for how God judges us.
3 Nephi 13:16–18
16 Moreover, when ye fast be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance, for they disfigure their faces that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.
17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face;
18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father, who is in secret; and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Comments
There are no changes from Matthew 6:16–18.
Jesus returns to examples of how humankind might perform religious labors to be noticed by others rather than because of their devotion to God. In this case, the subject is fasting. It is assumed that fasting is important and should be done. The difference, as with the other examples, is for whom one is fasting. That is, do we fast to improve our relationship to God, or to humankind. If we perform the tasks specifically so others will see and recognize how righteous we are, then we are not truly righteous.
The theme is repeated that those who do such things for the accolades of humankind will get the reward they look for, but only that reward. God will reward the heart, not the performance.
Love God (cf. Matthew 6:19–24)
3 Nephi 13:19–21
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal;
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Comments
There are no changes from Matthew 6:19–21.
The underlying theme of everything Jesus has taught has been the relationship of the individual to God. In the Beatitudes, it underscored the ultimate goal that transcends many of the hardships of this life. Most recently, the theme was how the individual approached deity.
The series of amplifications taught how the law of Moses was fulfilled, not by removing the moral laws, but by expanding them.
These verses provide the reason behind all the actions that have been described up to this point. Acting in the ways Jesus has described will “lay up . . . treasures in heaven.” That word choice was intentional; Jesus’s audiences on both hemispheres were well aware of what earthly treasures were like. What they are taught is that by acting correctly and living the commandments, they prepare themselves for greater treasures in the kingdom of heaven.
The declaration that “where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” is particularly poignant for the Nephites. Their history is replete with times when they set their hearts on worldly riches, and it led them away from God’s commandments, and therefore away from the protection of the covenant of the land. That led to destruction.
3 Nephi 13:22–23
22 The light of the body is the eye; if, therefore, thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If, therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
Comments
There are no changes from Matthew 6:22–23.
The key to understanding these verses is understanding the nature of the image of “The light of the body is the eye.” In Mediterranean cultures, it was believed that one’s eyes saw by emitting light rather than receiving it. They were the instruments through which an internal light illuminated the world. The next phrase is “if . . . thine eye be single.” The original meaning of “single” was unmixed, which does not necessarily make the interpretation of this image of “the light of the body is the eye,” any easier. However, if we see that the word unmixed is synonymous with pure, the image becomes clearer. The image refers to the type of light that was known in the ancient world. In oil lamps, pure and good oil produces a steady light. A mixed fuel source, or a corrupted fuel, would cause the flame to sputter. Thus, the imagery all deals with the internal light of the body.
That physical understanding is transformed into a spiritual message. The gospel is what is inside, not outside. Therefore, if we, in secret, or inside, follow the commandments, then the light of the eye represents a whole body filled with light. In some ways, it also speaks to the way we see the world, where the quality of our righteousness alters the way we view the world. We see others through the lens of what we have come to be.
3 Nephi 13:24
24 No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.
Comments
There are no changes from Matthew 6:24.
This verse is a section conclusion. Jesus has been talking about the things that we might do that could be recognized by others, or by God. What he says here is that we cannot have both. We cannot perform our religion to be praised and recognized by others and still receive God’s approval. The two are antithetical. If we perform for others, we receive only the reward that others give. If we perform with an eye single to God, then God rewards us.
In the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon, this verse ended a chapter. Orson Pratt wanted to make the texts that were clearly parallel easier to compare, so he used the New Testament chapter breaks rather than this one. It appears that the Book of Mormon chapter division highlighted the information given in verse 25 that Jesus began to address the disciples rather than the whole congregation.
Special Instructions Given to the Twelve (cf. Matthew 6:24–34)
3 Nephi 13:25–26
25 And now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he looked upon the twelve whom he had chosen, and said unto them: Remember the words which I have spoken. For behold, ye are they whom I have chosen to minister unto this people. Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Comments
The major addition to Matthew 6:25–26 is the addition of the information that at this point Jesus turns from the congregation and addresses the twelve. This suggests that some of the interpretations of these passages should relate to them and their mission rather than to the whole.
Nevertheless, there is a message that these verses, along with verses 26–31, are appropriate for all audiences.
The difficult reading is “take no thought.” That phrase seems to suggest that we don’t worry about such things, and we simply accept what happens. That is not the message. There is nothing in any other teaching of Jesus that suggests that we do nothing but wait for God to take care of us. That is a violation of agency, if nothing else.
This set of verses, from 25 through 31, are all similar examples that lead up to the conclusion in verses 33 and 34.
3 Nephi 13:27–34
27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin;
29 And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith.
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof.
Comments
Unfortunately, the critical phrase for the interpretation of these readings has been removed. At the beginning of Matthew 6:32, it says “for after all these things do the Gentiles seek.” That is the key. The issue is the seeking. Verse 21 above noted that “for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” These verses [27–34] are examples of that. The phrase “take no thought” means that we do not place our hearts on those things mentioned in these verses, that we do not seek those things as our highest priority. It does not mean that we should not work towards them, but that God will bless our efforts. They are all examples to show that God cares.
These verses also show that God cares even for those who do not have the wealth of the world. We can be satisfied with what we do have. There is, however, no indication that God’s statement to Adam was rescinded: “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground” (Genesis 3:19 KJV).
The other interpretation of these verses, as pertaining to the mission of the disciples, is that they go “without purse or scrip” (see Mark 6:8 and Luke 10:4). Those were conditions where the disciples had to rely upon the charity of others rather than upon their own labor as they performed their missionary tasks.
There is no end to a chapter at this location in the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon. Orson Pratt ended the chapter here to make it comparable to the chapter divisions in Matthew.
